


Two Can Never Rule

by FemaleSpock



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Codependency, Force-Sensitive Hux, Hatesex, Hux is Not Nice, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, M/M, Manipulation, Master and Apprentice, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Power Dynamics, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-16 19:21:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13060506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FemaleSpock/pseuds/FemaleSpock
Summary: Instead of pulling out a blaster, Hux pulls out a lightsaber. A duel commences, Kylo proving himself to be the stronger of the two, but instead of killing Hux he decides to make him an offer he cannot refuse...That may have been a mistake.





	1. Prologue: At last he is revealed

Kylo recognised the cadence of Hux’s footsteps even as he lay on the ground, his presence like an alarm to tell him to get back up and return to the fray. The weakness inside him was gone: the General needed to see that more than anyone. Supreme Leader Snoke was dead; Supreme Leader Kylo was born and a new order would ascend with him. The First Order was his instrument now. Hux was his to command. 

As he rose to his feet, he saw the glint of something metallic hastily making its way back into the safety of Hux’s jacket. "What happened, Ren? The Supreme Leader..." Hux’s voice was as even as it could be, given the circumstances.

But it was too late for him. Kylo had seen. “Where did you get that lightsaber?” he said, bristling. 

Hux sighed, façade collapsing. There was no talking his way out of this now. “I should have known you wouldn’t be dead. It would have been far too convenient for me.”

Kylo drew his lightsaber, igniting the blade. The events of the day had stretched his patience beyond repair. “Where did you get it?”

Hux pulled it back out, allowing Kylo to see for the first time the design of the handle: an elegant creation in gold and silver. “It’s my inheritance. Do you like it?” The blade burst into life, glowing red.

The two regarded each other for a long moment and without words, lunged towards each other, adrenaline coursing through Kylo’s blood stream. Sparks flew as their blades clashed against each other. They held position until Hux was forced back. Kylo pushed on, slashing the lightsaber down. Hux brought up his blade to block, teeth gritted in concentration. Kylo struck hard and Hux fell, sliding down to the ground, blade still up in defence.

“Surrender,” hissed Kylo. He felt Hux weakening with every passing second. Soon he would not be able to hold the blade aloft any longer. 

Hux grimaced and hooked his foot behind Kylo’s legs. Kylo stumbled a little and when he righted himself, Hux was back on his feet and in a semblance of a fighting stance. "No." His hair fell lankly over his eyes and his chest visibly rose and fell with each heavy breath. 

He wouldn’t last another minute.

Kylo would finish this swiftly. He struck sideways, knocking Hux off his balance as he tried to dodge, pulling his lightsaber underneath Hux’s. He pushed it upwards, sending the blade flying out of Hux’s hands. There was a satisfying yelp of surprise from Hux as he followed it with his eyes. Taking advantage of the moment of distraction, Kylo kicked Hux down, putting his blade to his throat. “I hope you won’t be stupid enough to try the same thing twice.”

Hux glowered, mind clearly whirring.

“You’re a terrible swordsman,” said Kylo, looking down at the weakling lying before him with disgust. “That lightsaber doesn’t belong to you.” He reached out with the Force and it came flying into his hand. He turned it over, inspecting the design with wonder. “How exactly did your family come by Palpatine’s lightsaber?”

Condescension clouded Hux’s face, despite the danger he was in. “Palpatine is my family.”

Kylo froze. Could this be true? “Your grandfather…”

“Yes.”

Kylo sent out feelers in the Force and, for the first time, felt the faint signature of real power from Hux. He frowned. “You weren’t trained?” 

Hux’s eyes burned with resentment. “My father couldn’t stand the idea that I had a power that he didn’t, that I had inherited something from my kitchen maid mother that he could never give me. He...” 

“You need a teacher. I can show you the ways of the Force,” Kylo said, the words falling from his lips like it was fated. A true master needed an apprentice, he had always known that, but it wasn't meant to be Rey after all. His true apprentice had been within arms’ reach all along and he had never known. How hadn’t he known? Now that he did, he could feel darkness rolling off Hux in waves. Such anger, such pain...he would be a powerful apprentice with the right training. But how he had escaped notice was a mystery for another time. Every moment he spent here was a wasted opportunity to finish the Resistance once and for all.

Hux's face changed abruptly, his eyes widening as he was taken off guard once again, then narrowing in suspicion. "This is a trap. Our feelings for each other have always been quite clear..."

“Hatred is the path to the dark side.” Kylo pressed the blade in closer to Hux’s throat. Any closer and flesh would sear. “And I don’t think you have much of a choice right now.”

Hux’s face turned pale. “I accept your offer of training…Master.” The word seemed stuck in Hux's throat. 

Kylo eased the lightsaber from his throat. “Come, apprentice. Your lessons begin as soon as we destroy the Resistance.”

Hux followed him out of the room and, with every step he led, Kylo could feel himself becoming. 


	2. Now There are Two of Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'The Jedi tried to destroy the Sith. The Sith tried to destroy the Jedi. The Sith and the Jedi destroyed the lives of their devotees with their rigid doctrines and wreaked pain and suffering throughout the galaxy. 
> 
> It had to end.'  
> -  
> Kylo lays the foundations for Hux's training and the beginning of a new Order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: brief flashbacks to past child abuse (physical/verbal) + a minor moment of self-harm (Hux digging his nails into his palms)

Kylo knelt in his room, meditating in the aftermath of the battle. The Resistance – what was left of it anyway – had managed to escape again. He wished he could take comfort in its state of near-destruction but if there was one thing he knew for certain it was this: if there was even a single Jedi left, they would endure, and the cycle would start again. Rey would train new Jedi, the Sith would rise to meet them, and it would all continue. It would cycle round and round unless they all wiped out and their teachings destroyed.

The Jedi tried to destroy the Sith. The Sith tried to destroy the Jedi. The Sith and the Jedi destroyed the lives of their devotees with their rigid doctrines and wreaked pain and suffering throughout the galaxy. 

It had to end.

The Sith were gone. Palpatine and Vader had been the last of them and yet Snoke had barely deviated from their teachings, despite his claims to be different.

Snoke was gone now too.

He was gone but Kylo could still hear his voice in his head, though he knew it was only his imagination. Snoke had started talking to him before he was old enough to understand what was happening and had been whispering in his ear ever since. Snoke didn’t have to speak now, Kylo’s mind would fill in the blanks for him, no matter how much he tried to scrub the memories away.

Snoke had called Hux a rabid cur. He’d bragged to Kylo about how weakness, properly manipulated, could make a sharp tool out of such a man. In retrospect, Kylo should have realised then that the Supreme Leader had viewed him too, as nothing more than a weapon. Snoke had recognised his humanity only as far as it allowed him to move Kylo like a game piece. Now Hux was his apprentice and he knew exactly what Snoke would have him do. It would be so easy, to find psychological pressure points and just push and push until Hux was his creature alone. Hadn’t he already started that? Hux had disobeyed him, questioned his orders, and he’d pushed him down like he was nothing. And the version of Snoke that lived in his head had rejoiced.

_You’re doing so well._

 Kylo made up his own mind, got to his feet, and walked calmly out of the room.

 

* * *

 

 

Hux seemed apprehensive but not surprised when he opened the door to his quarters to greet Kylo. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back, his shoulders tight, though his face was entirely smooth.

“It’s time to begin,” said Kylo.

His whole body seemed to twitch, his brow pinching momentarily, but he let Kylo in regardless. Face pale, he showed him to an ice blue sofa - a standout piece of furniture in the near featureless room. “Do you desire refreshments, Supreme Leader?”

What an odd thing to ask. “I would like to start your training.”

Hux blinked in surprise, as though he had forgotten their conversation, settling himself into a black chair opposite the couch. “Why?”

They’d gone over this, hadn’t they? “I’ve told you why. You could be strong with the Force.”

“You told me I could be strong with the dark side but what you haven’t told me is _why_ you would want that. The Supreme Leader is dead. You are all that is left of the Sith. You could rule alone – why create a challenge to your power?”

“I am not a Sith,” said Kylo, immediately.

“And yet, just a Sith you killed your master and moved to take an apprentice of your own. The Rule of Two. The master kills the apprentice or the apprentice kills the master and then another apprentice is taken. A wasteful philosophy,” Hux sneered.

“I am not a Sith,” Kylo repeated, struggling to keep his voice level. “The Sith are a dead-end. I’m creating a new Order.”

Hux tried to hide a sceptical look by turning to grab himself a bottle of water from a side-desk.

Kylo stood up, fire burning in his veins. “I could kill you right now, couldn’t I? I could have killed you after I bested you but I spared your life. You’re a strategist, you know you don’t have a chance of beating me as you are now. You need the training.”

“So you won’t try to kill me until you think I’m strong enough to try to kill you.” Hux cocked his head. “That doesn’t give me much incentive to start the training.”

“No! That’s not what I meant!” Kylo shouted, losing control momentarily to the bottomless well of frustration that lay within him. Time after time his words were twisted and used against him. Why couldn't Hux just see what he meant? “It’s time for us to establish something new. Something that will last. I think you could be a part of that.”

Hux fiddled with the cap of the bottle, saying nothing but Kylo felt everything. Deep-rooted fear, deep-rooted longing. The conflict that was tearing Hux apart. He took a breath, regaining his sense of calm. He was the master now. Everything was within his control. He sat back down. From calm came the question, the Force drawing him along the right path: “Why couldn’t I feel you in the Force before this?”

“I learned to shut myself off from it,” said Hux, his voice clipped.

“Your father.” It was less a guess and more of a certainty.

Hux drew himself up very straight. “The military is about order and discipline. There was no room for a liability like that.”

_A young Hux stood before his father, hand offered forward. His father brought a strap down once, twice, three times. Hux didn’t make a sound but the pain reverberated through him like a scream._

_“You need to learn, boy. You brought this upon yourself.”_

_"I didn't mean too."_

_Brendol Hux brought the strap down once again. "That's exactly the point. You're out of control." He traced the red line on Hux's hand with his fingers, his touch deceptively soft. "This is for your own benefit, my son."_

_Now Hux was all hatred: hatred of his father twisting into hatred of himself._

Kylo blinked, back in the room again. They were the same, he and Hux. They always had been. It was incredible just how much he could see now that Snoke was gone. “He was weak. You know that, don’t you? You said it yourself. He kept you from your birthright from you because he was jealous. He was afraid he couldn’t control you, so he made you afraid you couldn’t control yourself.”

“Stay out of my mind,” snapped Hux.

“You showed this to me,” said Kylo. “The power is awake now and it will not rest any longer. You can either learn to control it or it will control you.”

Seemingly unaware, Hux jammed his index finger into his palm, scraping hard at the skin. “I don’t have any other choice, Supreme Leader. If you order me to take the training, then I will bend to your wishes.”

It wasn’t a genuine conversion but Kylo would accept it for now. He would show Hux that he wasn’t the real enemy. Not anymore. “Now your training can begin.”

“And what does the training entail?” asked Hux, enunciating each syllable very carefully.

In truth, didn’t have much of a plan in place. He’d been twice trained, studied both the dark and the light. He could teach Hux as he had been taught, the only way he knew how and yet…If he wanted different results, he was going to have to be different. He would not create a path that was different in name only.

_Break him and reassemble him the way you want him. Make him your creature._

“Well?” Hux prompted, some of the old disdain returning to his voice.

“I-” What had Snoke done to him? Kylo had fled to the safety of his training and brought with him all that would be persuaded to abandon the old ways. And Snoke had told him that he was doing so well (until he wasn’t), and Snoke dispersed the knights across the galaxy (important missions, need to know), and Snoke told him that he was the only one (until Rey showed up). He was the only one. He was alone…But he didn’t have to be. It came to him in a flash. “I know what we need to do to win. Our mission will be your apprenticeship. You will learn as we finalise our conquest of the galaxy once and for all.”

Hux’s demeanour shifted further back into that of disgruntled General. “Supreme Leader, I respect your expertise in the Force.” Lie, or at least part of one. “But your previous strategies have…”

“I tried to act alone against Skywalker.” Kylo could feel his failure like a barb in his chest. His former master was gone now but it was not by his own hand. Worse, he’d turned Rey before he had left. She had had so much potential. But this time would be different. He was sure of it. He clenched his fists. “I’m not making that mistake again.”

“Then what?”

Kylo gritted his teeth and ignored the snippy tone of Hux's voice. Hux may not have been the enemy anymore but that made him no less irritating to deal with. “I am Master of the Knights of Ren but do you see them here with me?”

“I hadn’t given much thought to the title,” Hux admitted. He seemed annoyed at himself for the oversight.

“They were fellow students of Skywalker’s Jedi Academy who were disillusioned with his teachings.” His body shook involuntarily as he thought of them. They had been like family to him, the family he should have had. They’d fled to Snoke and one by one he’d sent them away. It had happened so slowly he hadn’t realised until they were gone until he was too in thrall to Snoke’s training to care. Vader had acted alone, Snoke had always reminded him. He choked on his breath as the galaxy shifted around him once more.

How long would it be until he could trust his memories? Every moment seemed to reveal them in new colours, shades so subtle that he had missed them.

“So you intend to find these Knights and bring them back into the fold,” said Hux. If he noticed Kylo’s weakness he made no sign of it. “The scavenger girl is the only Jedi left, so you mean to overwhelm her with sheer numbers.”

“It’s not just about that…” In truth, he hoped that she still might join them, though there seemed little chance of that now. “The Rule of Two was toxic, we agreed on that. The traditions of the dark side smothered any chance of co-operation. But we will not be shackled, not to the light or the dark. We will use all the powers we have and create a galaxy in the image of the First Order. I will create a new way that will put an end to the endless struggle between light and dark for good.”

Hux’s face twisted into that parody of a smile he always gave. “So you understand military values at long last.”

Kylo ignored the taunt. “You will be my first apprentice. My right hand as we gather our allies. With the resources of the First Order, it will be easy find the Knights. I will command the Order and you will stand by my side.”

Hux frowned. “I will take whatever training you wish of me but I will not relinquish my position as General of the First Order. You need my strategy, my knowledge of the Order to truly succeed.”

Kylo clenched his fists. Why did he have to be so stubborn? He should serve Kylo as just as faithfully as he had the last Supreme Leader, if only by his own military logic. “As your master, I will make sure to make the most of your talents.”

“Be that as it may, I want to make it absolutely clear: to the rest of the Order, nothing has changed. They are not to know that I have become your…apprentice.” Hux pronounced the word with a sneer, his face pinched up.

Kylo leaned forward. “Is that pride, General? You’re under my command either way.”

“No-one likes Force-users. No-one trusts them,” said Hux, arms crossing over his chest. “I will not lose the respect of my men.”

Kylo leaned forward. “You’re projecting. You resented my training, my power, and you assume that everyone else does too.”

Hux shook his head firmly. “Everyone’s too cowed by your power to say anything but the officers don’t trust what they don’t understand. Hard work, discipline – that’s what gets you ahead in the military. Not some mystical power descending from the sky.”

Kylo gave a dark laugh. “You’re about to find out the definition of hard work, General.” He considered for a moment before shrugging. “But if you wish your new position to remain concealed, I will not object. In time you will see the value of the Force.”

Hux nodded. There was scepticism in his eyes but he seemed to know better than to push it.

“Then we begin here, my apprentice. Close your eyes and reach out with the Force. Reach through the galaxy and search for our brothers and sisters in the Force. Find the one closest to us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters are going to alternate between Hux and Kylo to see both sides. Next chapter is going to focus on Hux. Things are going fairly well for Kylo in this chapter but Hux is not going to be an easy apprentice to train. 
> 
> Anyways, please let me know what you thought! I love reading comments and hearing feedback :)

**Author's Note:**

> Am I the only one that thought that force-sensitive Hux was going to be the big reveal for a second?
> 
> This is short because it’s just the set-up but future chapters will be much longer.
> 
> Coming up in future chapters: how and why Hux hid that he was Force-sensitive, lightsaber training montages, plotting and murder attempts (in classic dark-side style), co-dependency and hatesex (in classic Kylux style). 
> 
> Please let me know what you think so far! I really appreciate all comments :)


End file.
